(This is Part 2 of “Social Skills Activities.”)
We talked about turning the social awkwardness TO awesomeness in the previous article.
Now to brush that up with social skills activities!
Here are some social skills activities to improve your social skills:
10 Simple Social Skills Activities To Improve Your Social Skills
1.) Solid eye contact tells others that you’re ready to listen and boosts your self-confidence. Having a casual staring contest with your friends and colleagues help here. Pick friends that have a competitive streak and challenge them to a staring contest. This not only helps you maintain steady eye contact with them but helps you overcome fear and hesitation.
2.) Get out of seclusion and go outdoors more. Visit as many public places as possible. Go to schools, parks, grocery stores, malls and clubs. It’s not like you have to spend 1 or 2 precious hours from your busy schedule to be engaged with someone. You can converse with different folks while carrying out daily activities such as getting food, shopping, or making a round-trip…anything will do. This will make you comfortable with new places, ideas, and people.
3.) There’s no better social skills activity than being a host. Throw parties or invite your friends over for a get-together. If you’re not much of a host, partake in family gatherings and office parties. This way, you can easily warm up to others in a comfortable setting. The point of all this is to become relaxed and casual around large crowds and grow into a social butterfly!
4.) People talk because there’s an incentive to. Find your motivation and share it with others who have same interests as you. Discover common topics that interest most folks like sports, politics, technology, market, shopping, health, or beauty and share your opinions with them. This is how friendships and new relationships start off. If possible, join social groups, like fitness groups, culinary lovers groups, etc…and hit things off.
5.) Seek the guidance and company of well-intentioned, popular and friendly people who can support you. Friends, guidance counselors, grandparents, siblings or neighbors can act like open doors, a mentor if you will. If you find one, you can talk to them about your issues, and they can give you suggestions for improvement.
6.) I find sport tournaments a great gateway to social interactions. Team sports, group activities, and friendly matches make effective social skills activities for the newbie. It’s easy as well as a healthy way to interact with large crowd of common interest. Football and golf are my personal favorites. They’re fun!
7.) Volunteering for a noble cause is a great way to get you social as well as realize your self-worth. Visit an orphanage or elder’s home. Talk to people and help them with their daily activities. Attend sermons on weekends or help local schools raise funds for charity. It brings added appreciation that strengthens your ties with other members of the community, exposes you to fulfilling activities and expands your social networks.
8.) Sometimes, when you want the attention OFF you in a conversation, rely on open-ended questions. This way you won’t have to make idle chit-chats. Part-time jobs, social conferences, and mock job interviews are where you can try experimenting. Answer in just a few words and ask questions that don’t end in “yes” or “no” answers. This keeps the conversation going.
9.) Find a hobby or a pastime for self-improvement. Negative thoughts and failures can sometimes put you off. Identify the points that are likely dragging you down, and replace them with productive activities and realistic thoughts. Take your pets out on a walk, meditate twice a day, or read inspirational quotes to gain your lost confidence.
10.) If you’re afraid of meeting new people, you can try your luck in the virtual world. Search for people with similar interests in your area, interact with them on social networks or phones, and strike a friendly conversation. Once you build a positive rapport with the person, then take the relationship to the next level. Invite them out for drinks or to chill. This type of socializing will help you improve your social skills.
Overall, consider one or two of the problems you have and take up on the social skills activities for a month. Work on them as commitments.
Patience, practice and persistent efforts are eventually going to bring in success.
It might not be fun initially, but it’ll get better as you gain experience. You just needed the right push in the right direction!
So, give a try to these mentioned social skills activities.
